Sands of the Sahara
Sahara Death Valley Mojave Kalahari. These are the names of just a few of the driest places on the planet. In addition to being geographic proper nouns these words are often used to describe things that are very dry. For many these words are also used as descriptors of their eyes.
Not to be taken lightly
Dry eye syndrome is a problem. A big problem. Estimates indicate that one out of five North Americans may be suffering from dry eyes. Symptoms range from mere anno...Read More

It is considerably more dangerous to have scleritis which is an uncommon inflammatory condition of the sclera. Imagine the white part of your eye having different layers like an onion. Called the sclera this tough fibrous tissue maintains the round shape of the eye and serves to protect the eyeball from damage. Covering the sclera is the episclera a thin membrane that adds an extra layer of protection. Both the sclera and episclera are susceptible to inflammation. An inflamed episclera is called...Read More

Itching, Puffy, Watery Eyes
Most of us associate hay fever or season allergies with spring and summer, but for some allergy sufferers, the end of summer signals the start of their seasonal allergies. Unfortunately, just because the lush growth of summer is dying back and turning the green landscape into a fall foliage spectacular is not an indication of the absence of allergens. In fact, the autumn brings its own assortment of allergy triggers.
A survey done in 2002 re...Read More

Patients over the age of sixty five have a higher incidence of several visual problems. In light of this all seniors require a complete oculovisual assessment with their optometrist at least once per year.
Presbyopia the inability to focus on near objects starts in our fourties. With presbyopia comes the need for reading glasses or bifocals. After the age of sixty five the strength of your reading glasses or bifocals may change periodically.
One of the more common concerns for seniors is the d...Read More

Retinal disorders are a leading cause of vision loss in elderly people.As with every other part of the body your vision changes as a normal part of aging. Although visual changes are not preventable advances in technology have significantly decreased the inconvenience of vision problems. Aging can affect near distance and peripheral vision.
Common vision problems include:
Presbyopia
The development of cataracts
Flashes and floaters
Low vision
Glaucoma
Dry eyes
Age-r...Read More

Some silicone hydrogel lenses allow six times more oxygen to reach your eyes than ordinary contact lenses. Technology in contact lens development keeps on improving. The creation of silicone hydrogel contact lenses, however, is considered the biggest contact lens development in the last three decades. These lenses offer tremendous health and comfort benefits to new and existing contact lens wearers. One great advantage of these lenses is the fact that some can be safely worn overnight for ...Read More

Sinusitis occurs more often in people with decreased immune systems and those with abnormal mucous production and filtration. You are coughing and sneezing and your body and head ache. You try and manage with over-the-counter cough and cold medicines but nothing seems to work. The aches and pains continue for over a week particularly in your head and face. A common cause of these symptoms is inflamed sinuses (sinusitis).
Sinuses are air cavities lined by mucous membranes and all eight of them a...Read More

Imagine if your body could not produce sufficient moisture. You could not sweat you could not create tears and you could not salivate. Your body would certainly have difficulty functioning without these essential fluids. People with Sjögren’s syndrome are all too familiar with this scenario.
This chronic illness occurs when the body s immune system mistakenly attacks the glands that produce tears and saliva. In the eye inflammation of the glands that produce tears (the lacrimal gland...Read More

By quitting smoking you offer your eyes a chance to see well into the future.Smokers are consistently bombarded with information about how much damage cigarettes inflict on the lungs and heart. Little data is provided about the ill-effects of smoking on the eyes arguably the most important human sense. Studies have shown that of all five of our senses eyesight is the one that people are most anxious about losing; quitting smoking may be easier knowing that your eyes are suffering a little ...Read More

The researchers also found that fish rich in omega-3 oils can protect people from developing the illness later in life If you are male and smoke you have a significantly higher risk of developing AMD later in life than a person who does not smoke. If you are male and smoke you have a significantly higher risk of developing age-related macular degeneration later in life than a person who does not smoke according to a study carried out by Dr. Johanna M. Seddon director of the Epidemiology Unit Mas...Read More

A recent survey taken from groups of teenagers who routinely go out “clubbing” reveals some startling information for those who are trying to reduce smoking among that vulnerable age group.
Over 250 teens were surveyed outside of four club venues in the UK; ages of participants ranged from 16 to 18 years. In the group, about 21% of females and 15% of males said they were daily smokers. The clubbers were asked if they knew about the link between smoking and certain diseases s...Read More

Soflens® 66 ToricContact Lenses
We have recommended SofLens66® Toric contact lenses from Bausch & Lomb because these lenses:
Are specifically designed for people with astigmatism
Offer stable optics that minimize vision fluctuations
Are a frequently replaced lens, providing excellent eye health
The following information will help you maintain comfortable contact lenses and healthy eyes.1) Follow Direct...Read More

Astigmatism is a common vision condition affecting a large portion of the population. In an eye without astigmatism, the cornea, the clear dome-shaped “window” over the iris, is shaped like a sphere, similar to a basketball. In astigmatism, the cornea has different curvatures, much like that of an American football.
As this illustration shows, a football has more curve to it when measured horizontal, parallel to the line of stitches than it does running around its middle. Optic...Read More

New lens designs and new materials have made contact lenses the choice for vision correction for many people who were not good candidates in the past. Soft toric lenses, which correct astigmatism, are now almost commonplace, as are daily disposable, extended wear and planned replacement lenses. The great majority of contact lens patients use some type of frequent replacement or multi-packaged lenses, making deposits on lens surfaces and other problems associated with standard daily-wear soft len...Read More

Sports and Work – Protective Lenses
Goggles with prescription lenses will help visual acuity when not wearing contact lenses... Consider these statistics:
* 50000 North Americans lose their sight needlessly each year
* More than 40000 people are victims of sports eye injuries every year
* Three out of five workers who suffered an eye injury wore no protection; of those who did
40 per cent wore the wrong kind
* 90 per cent of the daily eye accidents that occur are pre...Read More

Sports Vision Specialists Athletes face unique visual demands that present interesting challenges for their eyecare needs. Although they may have good visual acuity excellent sports vision is a result of many factors including depth perception visual memory and eye-hand-body co-ordination. Developed vision skills are essential to superior athletic performance as the eyes lead the body in most of our actions movements and perceptions.
Sports vision specialists commonly referred to as behaviou...Read More

Sports: Protecting and Enhancing Your Vision Safety The manufacturers of sports eyewear know that their products serve two purposes for athletes and active people. They protect eyes from the dangers associated with various sports and they enhance performance in extremely competitive environments by providing clear vision improving contrast and reducing glare. The technology behind sports eyewear enables people to potentially play better harder and safer than they would without eyewear.
Spor...Read More

Keep Spring in Your Step. For patients who experience dry eye and ocular allergy problems this spring optometrists have a number of very effective medications.
Optometrists can help relieve eye allergy symptoms
Spring is officially in the air! And the mold spores dust pollen and a host of other allergens that come with spring are causing eye problems for many Americans.
Itchy watery eyes are not something that you just have to live with this spring. If you suffer from eye allergies see your ...Read More

Whenever the eyes are not aligned properly, the term strabismus applies. Pronounced "struh-biz-mus," people with this condition have been referred to in the past as "cross-eyed," "wall-eyed" or were said to have a "squint." These terms are all outdated and are no longer used by vision professionals, but people seeking information about the condition may see them mentioned.
Strabismus means that one eye is misaligned when compared to the other; while one eye fixates straight ahead at t...Read More

Strabismus (general description) The medical term for crossed eyes is strabismus (strah-biz mus). This condition means that one or both eyes are misaligned. Strabismus may be caused by abnormalities with the eye muscles with the nerves controlling the eye muscles or with the brain where the vision signals are processed. The condition affects an estimated 5 per cent of the population. Strabismus is usually present in children before the age of three.
Crossed eyes can be a sign of a serious illne...Read More

Subconjunctival Hemorrhage Subconjunctival hemorrhage can be caused by a sudden rise in venous pressure such as coughing heavy lifting sneezing or vomiting. One of the most common surface conditions that leads to dramatic patient concern is the presentation of a subconjunctival hemorrhage. The conjunctiva is mucous membrane that lines the white surface of the eye. A subconjuctival hemorrhage is caused by a ruptured conjunctival blood vessel and usually has a rapid-onset appearance. It usually pr...Read More

Because more people are out and about summer is also the season of eye injuries. Summer is the season of sun outdoor fun fireworks and for those so inclined yard work and home improvement projects. Because more people are out and about summer is also the season of eye injuries. The United States Eye Injury Registry estimates that about 2.4 million eye injuries occur in the U.S. each year and most of them take place during summer. Nearly 1 million Americans have permanent vision impairment du...Read More

Now that summer is rapidly approaching we are able to spend more of our time outdoors. With that brings the need for effective protective eyewear from the sun.
All well made sunglasses on the market have one hundred percent UV protection. The benefits of UV protection are well known including the reduction of skin cancer to the eyelids the chance of benign growths on the white of the eye cataract growth and macular degeneration progression.
Transitions lenses are very popular with a lot ...Read More

The sun gives us light and supports all life on earth, but some of its rays pose threats to us and our vision. The primary danger from sunlight is Ultraviolet (UV) rays, which come in three types, UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. The last group, UV-C, are screened by the ozone layer, which is one reason we should all be concerned about our atmosphere; however, UV-A and UV-B rays pose a threat to our eyes in several different ways.
Even small doses of sun exposure over a period of many years is an i...Read More

“Synechia” is the medical term for adhesions or fibrous bands that bind two ocular structures that are meant to be separate. There are two different forms: anterior or posterior. Anterior synechia involves the bonding together of the iris and the cornea and posterior synechia is the fusing of the iris to the lens. Your iris is the coloured part of your eye that is suspended behind the cornea and immediately in front of the lens. It regulates the amount of light entering the eye...Read More